Fade-resistant generic inks for Canon IP3000?

[wrybread]

I've been using these generic inks for my Canon IP3000 for years, they work great, look really good, don't jam my the heads more than other inks (I think), but they have one big problem: if exposed to sun, they fade pretty quickly. So put a generic ink picture on the fridge next to a picture printed with real Canon inks, and two months later the Canon inks are still vibrant, but the generics are faded.

Here's the inks I've been using:

http://www.private.abacus24-7.com/compatibility.aspx?compat=13508

Anyone have a tip on a generic ink that doesn't fade?

 

[Osage]

To Wrybread,

There was an excellent post on this subject about three months back on fading from ozone exposure---and grandad35 was one of the posters so you might search his posts to find it.---don't get lost though---you can spend alot of productive time reading any of grandad35's posts.

But abacus inks from what I have heard is just one of the many cheap Chinese ink vendors--and I doubt any of them put much R&D into getting more fade resistant dyes.--and also from what I have seen--abacus may not have even expended enough to even get its color balance right. Your OEM inks will almost always be better in that fading department. But from what I can recall on the thread grandad35 collaborated on in the ozone tests---some third party inks were better than other third party inks----but having a swellable photopaper also has a huge effect on fading---as the ink is absorbed into the paper instead of just lying on the surface where its more vulnerable. That and coatings you can spray on the print can also slow fading.

But dye based inks are vulnerable to degradation from chemicals and light---something about weakly bonded electrons---and sometimes the trick is to give light and chemicals other things to be absorbed by---thereby saving the dye. Pigmented ink is better on fading---but you lose the real vibrant colors as a tradeoff.

In terms of choosing an ink---you can probably do better than abacus---and check out which ink faded less on the ozone tests---and also see who else posts on this thread for recommendations.

 

[fadeaway]

I was involved in the UV and Ozone tests (with Grandad35, JV) that Osage mentions. In fact I performed all of the Ozone tests that we had posted months ago, so I will give you my opinion.

Your prints on the fridge may also be "gas fading" from Ozone and other contaminants. If you really want to find out which one is causing the problem, print two identical copies and wrap one in Saran wrap -taped closed at the back. Saran wrap is so thin that it will let virtually all of the light including the full UV spectrum to pass through to the print but stop most of these contaminants. After a couple of months, see if there is a significant difference.

If you want to virtually eliminate the effects of gas fading with an unframed print, use a swellable polymer paper such as Illford Classic series, or Kodak's Ultima papers. You may have to play with the printer settings to get these papers to work at their best. The problem is they do not like to be flooded quickly with ink since the swellable polymer coating takes a longer time to absorb it. Mounting under glass will also offer great protection from gas fading.

Of course you still will have to contend with the effects of fading from light. Of the 3rd party inks we tested, none performed as well as the Canon's but having said that, some were not far off. A "Clearshield" type UV acrylic coating can also help somewhat however visible light (especially blue light) still gets through and this is also damaging to these dyes.

From our tests, and some consulting with some people working in the ink industry, we now believe that fade-resistant water-based ink is relatively expensive to manufacture . This higher cost to the consumer would lower sales especially since 90% of 3rd party ink users are more concerned with saving money than they are with making prints last. The problem is that people such as yourself, like those of us who performed these fading tests are actually a small minority, like it or not!

Having said all of this, take a look at the UV/light tests and Ozone tests at:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/docs/inkjet-fading.php
http://www.nifty-stuff.com/docs/inkjet-fading1.php

In addition, there were some additional tests performed by Correzpond -prints placed outdoors facing North. See:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=882

 

[Osage]

To fadeaway,

Thank you for posting the links I had lost---and sorry for not crediting you and Correzpond. I remembered there were others than grandad35 but without finding the links I could not properly dish out the credit for what amounts to very fine work. So all hail those who worked on the projects.
There should be no unsung heros here.

 

[wrybread]

Thanks for all the great info.

I did some tests, and looks like you're right, the fading has to do with the paper, not the ink.

I'm using Epson Photo Paper (not Epson Premium Photo Paper), and it seems to resist fading really well. I wonder if it's "swellable polymer paper", since when I first started using it I had to bump the paper type down to "matte" in teh printer driver since calling it glossy paper sent too much ink to the paper and everything looked blotchy.

Another great thing about the Epson Photo Paper is you can print to the back of it, which is very unusual.

I use it with my photobooth software:

http://photoboof.com

 

[fadeaway]

To Osage... don't worry about crediting. I know it is not easy to remember all the details of posts in these comprehensive forums. I just thought I would mention that, to hopefully give a little more credibilty to my response to wrybread's post.

wrybread,

I am not sure about that specific Epson paper but you can do some simple tests to determine what type it is.

Place a few drops of water on one of the reject prints and rub this around a bit with your finger. If it is a swellable polymer coating, it will not take long before the coating softens to a sticky glue-like substance and at the same time, the ink will start to lift and make a mess. If the coating is of the microporous type (sometimes called nanoporous), this will not cause tthe coating to dissolve and the ink smearing will be minimal. Further, when dry the microporous papers produce a squeaky sound when rubbed with a dry finger. There are other simple tests but these do the job.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Here is another link to a simple fade test:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1003&message=12198835